Thank you for e-mailing me. I am so glad to hear that someone
is doing something about these traps. After finding out how my dog was killed,
I went on the internet and typed: "animal traps used by farmers", and came
across your website about Grace. But my dog did not die on a farm, he died
in a woods in a very busy area. Here is my story about how we found out how
Sparky died:

Just look at how simply she wrote this, and how succinctly
it tells the story.

My dog took off Saturday morning as he does very frequently.
He digs holes in the backyard and gets out underneath the gate but he always
returns. We would always cover the holes and put bricks there but somehow
he managed to find a way out. Anyway around 5:30 Saturday afternoon just as my
nine year old son Anthony's birthday party was starting and people were arriving
I got a phone call from a man about Sparky. The man said that he was calling
about Sparky and that he had his tags. I said Thank you that is great, where
is he I will go pick him up. He said "No he is dead". I got hysterical
and put my husband on the phone. After my husband thanked the man for calling
he hung up the phone and told me that the man had already buried Sparky but
asked if we wanted to pick up his tags. He told my husband that he did not
know how the dog died and that he was dead by some woods. Not thinking and
shocked by the call my husband told the man that he did not want the tags.

We tried to call the man back several times to ask for the tags but he did
not answer his phone. My friends and family all thought that it was very
odd of the man to take it upon himself to bury the dog before calling us
or the town as some people do especially being that he had tags. Now I was
going out of my mind worrying about how Sparky died. Was he hit by a car
or shot at the duck farm around the corner. Some sick people get annoyed
by loose pets and will harm them, I have heard sick stories. Its terrible
to think the worst but all these things were going through my head.

My dog
from time to time would come home covered in crap and we think it was from
the duck farm. We hear the gunshots from the duck farm frequently so I assumed
maybe he was shot and the man did not want to tell us the truth. Last night
my mother took my son with her and a picture of our dog Sparky and went to
the police precinct to see if there was anything that they could do. She
gave them the man's cell phone # that I got off of the caller ID. The police
officer thought at first that maybe he was stolen and the tags were removed
and that maybe the man had said that he was dead so that we would not look
for him.

The police officer had finally got in touch with the man and he
got the details about how Sparky had died. The man told the officer that
the reason why he didn't tell me what happened is because I got hysterical.
He said that he was walking in some woods with his daughter when they saw
Sparky dead in an animal trap. He said that his daughter was very upset and
he felt terrible. He released Sparky from the trap and threw the trap in
the river and then he buried our dog. My mother asked the officer if these
traps are illegal and he said that they are legal and used by farmers.

After
finding out about this I was curious as to what these traps look like. Before
finding the website about Grace I came across a picture of a trap and my
older son who is ten said to me: " Mom, look I see that all the time
in the bike trails when I go with my friends". I am outraged by this.
This is sick and the fact that it is legal is even sicker! What if my son
was curious and got caught in that trap or another child. My husband wants
to go to the bike trails to throw a stick in the trap to set it off and then
remove it.

I will make sure that everyone I know is aware especially parents
that these things exist. I don't understand why my dog had to die this way.
The trap should not have been where it was. I live in a busy neighborhood
on Long Island, NY. The officer told my mother to tell me that my dog did
not suffer but I am not too sure about that. When I saw the pictures of Grace
it brought tears to my eyes. My dog Sparky was a beautiful black Lab mix
and was only three years old. He was the most kind , loveable gentle dog.
He will be missed by us especially our children and Daycare children that
I care for everyday who enjoyed playing with him for hours and taking him
for walks.

I've never been this upset over a pet like this. He was a member
of our family and he was killed and taken before his time because of a careless,
heartless, sick human being that put the trap there. I don't even think these
traps should be on any farm. I read that these traps were invented to be
more humane. How sick! Thank you for hearing my story and thank you for sharing
your story about Grace. Good luck with the mayor and let me know how it goes.
Take care!Jessica Pistolese

Jessica's was the first communication I received this winter.
Right after this, I received email from Lynda in Nova Scotia, and then the emails started
flowing at a rapid pace.